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Escape the Complex 1
Escape the Complex 1 is the first edition of the American reality competition show Escape the Complex. The show brings together a group of sixteen contestants, known as Escapists, battling each other to complete various challenges and solve the path out of an otherworldly complex. The inaugural season premiered on March 8, 2016 and concluded on May 24, 2016, when Shania Bissinger was pronounced the winner over Luke Baccarin by a jury vote of 7-2. Production RLV Network originally greenlit the show in early 2015 as Escapada, the dropped titular namesake for the complex. Executive producers Greene Gantly and Mai Thellaroniki, directors of numerous Oscar-winning productions, drew out concepts for escape rooms and puzzles, taking inspiration from action-disaster films such as Passengers and San Andreas, interiors of Japanese love hotels, and interactive art pop-ups. Broadway actor Michael Vexborough was brought in to serve as the host after the series was officialized by the network. The stylistic approach to automate the complex after introducing the escapists into the game was worked to set a precise 24-day operating schedule when and where challenges and eliminations would be carried out without the need for a live physical presenter. Vexborough teased this feature in a pre-show interview with Morning Crashers Morning Show. Complex Production selected an abandoned 80,000 sq ft garment factory outside of Victorville, California to film. Crews arrived about a month before filming to prepare the premises and create any necessary props for the challenge and conference quadrants. The themed quadrants this season were based on the historical working conditions documented in the The Jungle and the Roaring Twenties: * Quadrant I: Warehouse * Quadrant II: Speakeasy wine cellar * Quadrant III: Meat packing factory * Quadrant IV (Egress): Distribution center Casting Auditions were unavailable in Canada and only open to American citizens due to visa complications. Deadline for auditions was September 28, 2015. Sponsors Two companies wrote off on a programming sponsorship for season one, Credit Karma and HelloFresh. The latter made meal deliveries to escapists who won Penthouse status. Twists *Quadrant I **'Plus One': After completing a flight, the winners of the Penthouse puzzle had to grant one other escapist access into the living unit. In doing so, the awarded escapists would also be deemed safe from the proceeding shortlist. *Quadrant II **'Potent Elixir': Before flights 5 to 7, escapists encountered a wheel of 33 elixir tubes of various flavors, some tasteful and some repulsive. They were required to take a shot and replace the empty spot with a name chip. The tray remained in the same position and pieces of the wheel (found through the flights) were added until the start of the eighth flight. Shortly after all 33 tubes had been taken, the wheel would have to be spun by a volunteering escapist. After the wheel stops, the escapist would pull a tab to drop 22 of the spots into the barrel underneath. It was revealed the escapist with the most chips on the wheel would advance into the third quadrant without voting. The escapist(s) with zero chips left on the tray had to wear alcohol intoxication goggles during the eighth flight. Escapists Alliances conceived * Donkey Kong Krew (dissolved) - Brian, Hayden, Kandace, Kirk, Laurett, Luke, and Veronica * La Chopper - Brian, Kandace, and Luke * Last Chance Alliance (dissolved) - Indri, Seder, and Veronica * The Moms - Lindsey and Veronica * Stars Alignance - Becka, Duggarti, and Taurus * Tomahawk Trio - Hayden, Kirk, and Tommy Game and voting history Notes: #For the first quadrant, winners of Penthouse access had to summon one other person to join them in the retreat. The selected escapist would also be deemed safe from ejection during the flight. Journey summary